A plant produces
seeds in order to reproduce itself. For a plant to create a seed it needs to be
pollinated. Some plants are self-pollinating
– the male and female parts are contained within a single flower that
fertilizes itself. Other plants are open-pollinating
–the male and female parts are contained in separate male and female flowers
and their pollen has to get from one flower to another flower in order for the
flowers to be pollinated. The transfer of pollen is accomplished by wind,
insects, birds, mammals or humans.
The ‘Easy’ to save seeds are
self-pollinating types of plants such as: tomatoes,
peas, beans, lettuce and native plants. If you are new to seed saving,
please start with these types of plants.
‘Medium’ and ‘Difficult’
seeds require special planning to preserve the purity of the variety. If you
return seeds to the library without taking certain precautions, they will not
produce plants true to type. Also, hybrid plants do not produce seeds true to
type—do not return seeds of hybrid plants.
